Strange Angel

You question my methods?

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missmimmi

Nein! It is just, um...

You could have at least said please?

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She is under my instruct. I hardly need to say please.

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missmimmi

That is still no reason to be rude.

[Srsly, new person, gtfo]

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Telling my student to sing is not rude.

[You need to learn boundaries, Mimmi. You're crossing them.]

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missmimmi

[Boundaries? What are boundaries?]

It is if you are simply demanding it.

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You speak of things you know nothing about.

[He's starting to get angry. No one questions his treatment of Christine. No one.]

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missmimmi

And you really must learn some manners.

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My manners are fine, Madam. It is yours that seem to need adjustment.

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missmimmi

At least I know how to treat friends well.

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Were she my friend, I would treat her accordingly.

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missmimmi

A... 'student' can be considered a friend.

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[Silly, Mimmi. He can't do that. Not with Christine.]

Become better acquainted with the situation before you go about making rash assumptions.

[This conversation is over. Or it would be. If he knew how to end a transmission.]

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You know someone who sings, oui? That is wonderful. [Oblivious Anna is oblivious! She also likes to sing.]

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I do.

[She sound so naive. How sweet.]

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Then perhaps I will meet her soon. It has been such a long time since I have sang.

[She is and isn't. She is definitely when it comes to masked phantoms hiding in opera sewers.]

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Your name?

[He likes keeping track of the people Christine meets. It's all for her, really.]

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My name is Anna. It is nice to meet you. What is your name, sir?

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[Anna. He stores that name away. She might be hearing from him in the future. Especially now that he knows she sings.]

You may call me O.G.

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..Alright, then. It was very nice speaking with you, O.G.

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[Oooooooooh merde. This? This is bad.

Now, normally Christine wouldn't mind singing. She loves singing! She's sung several times over the comm - accidentally, admittedly - and hadn't particularly minded that people had heard her. She even sings in the café when she's working there.

The reason she doesn't mind anyone overhearing, however, is that they don't know how much better she sounded when she was under Erik's strict tuition. They just hear a voice that is still very pretty, even when she isn't practicing anywhere near as much as she ought to.

Erik will know immediately, and God alone knows what he'll do. Still, she doesn't have much of a choice, not if she wants to keep the peace. After making sure her comm is off, she warms up, sings a few scales, and then comes back to take the plunge. Please, God, don't let him be too angry.]

Think of me
Think of me fondly
When we've said
Goodbye
Remember me
Once in a while
Please promise
Me you'll try

When you find
That, once
Again, you long
To take your heart back
And be free
If you
Ever find
A moment
Spare a thought
For me...

We never said
Out love
Was evergreen
Or as unchanging
As the sea
But if
You can still
Remember
Stop and think
Of me...

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[He blinks when he hears her sing. This is not the voice he has nurtured. Something must be wrong.]

Christine? Is there something troubling you?

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[Oh dear. Christine makes a smart decision to stick to text. It's so much easier to make up an excuse when you're not actually having to speak to someone, or look at them.

What to say, though? Oh, I'm sorry, Angel, but I'm terrified that you will find out that I've been having an affair, and you'll hunt down and murder the man I love. On top of that, I have no wish for you to know that I honestly can't remember the last time I practiced my scales.]

I feel somewhat indisposed. The beginning of a cold, perhaps.

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[All of that would piss him off. So yes, the truth is best kept to yourself, Christine.]

Rest your voice. Drink lemon tea with honey. And we will try again in a week's time.

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As you wish, Angel.

[Cue a week of Christine frantically trying to get her voice back to the expected standard. This cannot possibly end well.]

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[What're you talking about? It's going to end great.]

I want to see you.

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[Oh no. No no no. Bad idea. Bad idea!

Think fast, Christine.]

Really, I can manage well enough by myself, and I would hate to pass on this cold.

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[Oh Chrissie. Have you forgotten he doesn't need your permission?]

Just rest. I will be fine.

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Angel, I think it really would be for the best if I recovered alone.

[It's only a token resistance, however. Christine knows well enough that she stands very little chance of changing Erik's mind. Given that she knows the penalties for not following orders given by her Angel, Christine supposes she ought to change and go to bed, but given what happened last time she was alone with Erik not fully clad...

She knows better than to touch his mask now, though, of course, and through some miracle Erik does not remember, or hasn't experienced her taking it. It should be safe, as long as she's careful, and it's not as if her reputation can be ruined any further.]

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Rest.

[His mind is made up. He won't disturb her, just watch her sleep for a little while. He wanted to see how much she had changed over the year she says she had been gone. A year was far too long to be away from his watchful eye.

He needed to be with her and there was no other way around it.]

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Yes, Angel.

[At least she has something more modest than lace undergarments to cover her, which is good. In a matter of minutes, she's in bed feigning sleep. Hopefully Erik, if he manages to get in, will not inspect her too closely and realise that she is only pretending. The last thing Christine wants right now is to have to explain the whole 'three-deaths-equals-black-eyes' thing.]

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[He keeps it on and listens to her get ready for bed. Oh how badly he wants to see her. So he leaves his room and stands outside of her door. It's locked, of course and he has yet to rig a way inside. She was so close...

He lowers his voice and sings softly.]

Christine...

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[The sound of Erik's voice sends a shiver down her spine, and Christine marvels again over how she could possibly have forgotten exactly what it is like.

This is going to be awkward to manage, though. She has to open the door for Erik, but how to do so without letting him see her eyes, in a way that will arouse no suspicion. Perhaps if she just averts her gaze...

Christine opens the door, a robe over her nightgown, and her eyes fixed firmly on the floor. Please God let this work.]

From:

[He was not expecting Christine to respond. But he is pleased nonetheless when the door opens. He reaches out and twines one of her many curls around his finger. She seems the same when he saw her last.

He's so caught up in examining her, it takes a moment to realize she's not looking at him. He brushes his hand along her chin. That's her cue to look at him.]

Christine, your angel is waiting.

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[Much as she wanted to avoid this completely, Christine didn't want to risk the consequences of not opening the door. On the other hand, now she's beginning to think it may have been better to risk Erik's anger than to risk him seeing her now. It's like when she first woke up and saw her new eyes, and terror of being labelled a freak had cosumed her.

Christine closes her eyes, and gives such a tiny shake of her head that she barely moves, silently praying that Erik will somehow understand that she cannot show him her eyes.]

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[He understands. He just wants to know why. But he'll save it for later. Instead, his hand leaves her chin and travels down her neck and the length of her arm. Then he lifts her hand and presses it to his smooth, unmasked cheek.]

Touch me, trust me savour each sensation. Let the dream begin, let your darker side give in...

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[...And that takes Christine straight back to the night of the gala. What little she can remember of it, anyway. She recognizes the song, though, the tone more than the words.

Her eyes remain closed, partly because she doesn't want Erik to see the black orbs, and partly so she can remain in denial about anything that may follow this. Does he intend to seduce her? She can't let him. She belongs to Erol, he told her so. But how can she deny Erik without angering him, or worse, driving him to questioning the rest of the ship?

But... maybe he won't try to seduce her. After all, as far as he knows, she's suffering from a cold and needs rest. So, for the present, Christine decides to go along with whatever Erik wants.]

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[Her eyes are closed and Erik cannot gauge how she is reacting. She has been avoiding him. And this only confirms it. Something has changed her and he frowns. He did not like this change. He wants her back. He needs her, more than anything else in the world.

And he would do whatever it takes to have her under his spell again.

He steps closer to her, turning her around as he did so and wrapping his arms around her waist.]

I am your angel of music. Come to the angel of music.

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[Christine's breath catches in her throat as she feels Erik's arms close around her, and her eyes flutter open briefly before she remembers and squeezes them shut. She goes tense at his touch for a moment before his voice begins to work its magic, sending a tremor through her body, and making her relax a little into his arms. She had almost forgotten how powerful his voice is.

It would be so easy to give in, and allow him to do whatever he wants. It would stop so many people from being at risk if she gives him what he has - so obviously it seems now - craved from the beginning. With his voice ringing in her ears as she stands in his embrace, it seems so clear a solution to simply give in...

Something in the back of her mind is trying to get her attention, though, and as much as she tries to brush it aside, it is persistent. Christine wishes whatever it is would leave her alone.]

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